ISSUE #6

' Wake up.'

Hmm? I was enjoying my dream, floating high above the clouds on the back of a giant

' WAKE UP!'

" Huh!" I snapped up and looked around frantically for the voice. I looked up and Professor Grey was standing over me.

I looked past her shoulder and saw Logan and Gladiator talking. I then looked back to Miss Grey. It was clear that she caught on to my confusion, as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

" What happened? We done fighting?" I asked the woman and she nodded.

I tried getting to my feet, but the immense headache that I had from Gladiators punch caused me to fall over. Thankfully Gladiator caught me before I hit the floor. I have to admit, he had very soft hands when they weren't punching you in the face.

" Are you alright?" Gladiator asked.

" Yeah, just fine. Nothing like a good old concussion to get the blood flowing." I tried joking to help with the pain, but even still, I couldn't really think clearly. My head was pounding harder than any kind of headache I've ever had before.

" My apologies. I am sorry for being tricked by Cassandra Nova. I promise it won't happen again." Gladiator spoke.

It was nice to know that the guy who could dominate the X-Men wasn't gonna be an enemy anymore. Because honestly, I don't think there was a thing any of the teachers could do to beat this guy. I've never seen anyone tear through the X-Men so fast.

" Apologies accepted. What now?"

" Now, we gotta get ready to stop Cassandra. And save Xaviers life." Logan told me. His wounds from before gone. That healing factor of his is something else man. No fair. Wish I could do that. Wait?

" Uh, It could be that I'm just new here. Or I haven't been paying attention don't mind me, just trying to get used to my powers without dying, but who's Cassandra Nova?"

" The professor's crazy murderous sister. Anything else?" Logan asked rather abruptly.

" Nope, That answers all of my questions."

Logan growled and turned back to Hank who was currently helping Miss Grey. Looking at her now she was pale, deathly so, and was sweating profusely. It didn't look good. In fact, it looked like she was going to kill over at any moment. Whoever this Cassandra lady was, it didn't seem like she was going to be easy to beat.

The institute's alarm just started blaring, signaling the arrival of an intruder.

" The bitch is back. Okay. Hank, Civilians to the danger room now!" Logan began barking orders and handed Jean to Mr. McCoy.

The others, all people I'm assuming were the news reporters that had come to cover Miss Grey's speech, were all herded together by Mr. McCoy into the danger room.

" You too, kid." Logan commanded. He along with Gladiator and those other Shi'ar things? People? Aliens. We'll call them Aliens. Yeah, they all walked out together to fight Cassandra.

I was brought alongside the reporters into the danger room where most of the school was currently hiding from the intruders.

" David!" I looked into the crowd to see Irina running towards me.

" Irinia, are you alright?"

" David, what the hell is going on out there?"

" Yeah, the sister of the Professor is trying to kill us all. But the big guns are handling it out there. Logan and those Aliens are gonna do something about her. Hopefully anyway."

I'm not gonna lie, the way the others were talking about Cassandra, it made it seem like she was some big bad monster. Even, Logan was afraid of her. That's something you don't see every day. I wish there was some way to tell what was going on out there.

We had no choice but to wait. Wait until we were freed or killed.

I don't like that.

After about a good ten minutes of just waiting in a crowded room, I sighed and walked towards the door to the danger room. At this point the sound of explosions had stopped, meaning we were either good to go or the X-men were in trouble. Either way i wasn't gonna wait to find out.

" David, what are you doing?" Irina asked.

Her confusion was understandable, I was about to do something extremely stupid, or very brave or both. But if I'm gonna get cooked. I'm gonna get folded fighting back. I seemed to feel the need to verbalize that to Irina.

" You hear that out there? Nothing. So, either we're good or we're screwed. If I'm going down, then I'm going down swinging."

I walked out of the danger room, much to the protest of everyone else and shut the door behind me. Hopefully i didn't just screw those guys over.

" Alright, what's the plan."

My head snapped back to see Irina standing behind me.

" What are you doing out here woman?"

" What? I wasn't gonna sit back and let you have all the fun. Besides if we save the school, maybe Mr. Summers won't be so harsh on grading us for the rest of the year. Besides what are you worried about. It's not like things couldn't worse than they already are."

I shook my head at girl and sighed. She just had to tempt the universe.

" What?"

" You never tempt the universe woman." I know this because I learned that lesson earlier. " Whatever, just don't say it again and maybe we'll be fine, now come on girl." I ran with Irina behind up the sub-level stairs and into the main hallways, where we met up with more of the students from the school, Logan, Mr. McCoy, Mr. Summers, Miss Grey, and some guy wearing a metal mask. Okay what was with the metal mask? You know what time and a place. " Mr. Logan."

" Hm? I thought I told you not to come." Logan replied. His anger not going unnoticed, but he seemed to quickly shrug it off.

" Not, now Logan." Mr. Summers spoke to the man and lifted Miss Grey, who was collapse don the floor, up into his arms and carried her into Cerebra, followed by the masked man.

Cerebra is the machine that the professor and other telepaths can use to find mutants across the globe. It's supposedly a thousand times stronger than Cerebro.

" Ugh! You kids were supposed to stay in the danger room." Logan grumbled.

" Well, I wasn't sure if you were all dead or not. So, I figured if I was gonna die anyway, I might as well go out swinging." I told the man.

" Well, you might get your wish kid." Logan spoke.

Shortly after a giant blue creature walked into the hall, destroying the walls of the institute in the process and in the middle of the blue corporeal creature was Professor Xavier. Or Cassandra Nova in Xavier's body? I don't know it's weird as all hell. Wait? Where the hell where the intergalactic warriors? What happened to Gladiator? That guy was strong as hell. You mean to tell me this bald beefcake beat that bruiser. Oh, man this cannot be good.

" Logan. The wolverine that walks as a man. Or is it the man broken down by torture into a screaming, mindless, unfeeling killing machine? That old healing factor of yours made you a perfect, reusable, experiment in vivisection." Cassandra spoke.

I had heard that Logan had a rough past, but that sounds downright horrible. How does a man like that continue to live every day without any kind of psychological trauma? This lady knows no boundaries. That was just uncalled for.

" And now you torture yourself over and over again, just to feel that same intensity of sensation you once experienced on the racks of a scientific inquisition, Hmm?"

Now this lady was just pissing me off. " HEY! What do you know about it, lady? You're just some failed abortion that was lucky to see the day." I shouted at the woman. I might have gone a little too far as she seemed to look at me and grin. But she soon turned her attention back to Logan. Please Universe, don't take it out on me.

" Take me to Charles and I'll let you survive as one of my soldier-drones, Mr. Logan. That's my best offer. Otherwise... What's your black bug room like, James?"

" Don't work on me, sister." Logan replied. " You're right they did make me like an animal- I can just switch it off and go pure instinct where your telepathic range has trouble reaching."

" And I, too. I made a mistake of trying to resist you with my rational mind before." Mr. McCoy told the woman. He then started growling like a wild beast and his eyes turned red.

Didn't know the doc had it in him. I should probably get out of here before anything crazy happens.

" Snarl all you like, you pathetic poseur. You don't dare hurt this body I'm using." Cassandra replied.

" That so?" Logan asked the woman. " See if I have to kill Chuck to get at you, I will. That's the kind of crazy fucked-up son of a bitch I am. But truth is we've handled much worse than you and never lost a man." Logan explained to the woman.

Damn right, Logan. Give her the business.

" See how I just slowed you down by making you think about something missus? You can't even see your own weaknesses cause you don't know where to look. But I do." Logan told the woman.

That probably wasn't the brightest idea.

" Uh, Irina let's get out of here before the universe decides to give us that Karma, I was talking about." I spoke.

I turned back to the girl, and she just stared at me. Her eyes were blank and lifeless. She wasn't dead, but she wasn't all there either. And I just knew this was the universe fucking me over specifically. Irina lunged at me and started trying to choke me.

" Uh, Logan! Mr. McCoy! Irina's attacking me!" I shouted to the two men.

" Yeah, no shit sherlock!" Logan replied. I looked over at the man and saw that he and Mr. McCoy were also being swarmed by the other students.

" Right, I forgot, Professor Xavier's sister. She's a telepath too." I struggled to get Irina off me. I tried my best to hold her back as gently as I could, Afterall it wasn't her fault she was currently trying to choke the life out of me. And she was my friend, i didn't want to hurt her if I didn't have to.

" Your strange boy, I can't seem to force my way into your mind as easily as I can the others. Don't worry, I'll make sure to take care of you shortly." Cassandra said to me.

" Not today, ya crazy witch."

" Why not? I have no weaknesses. Human and mutant ideas about good and evil cannot be applied to me. Like the storm and the flames, like the rocks and the sky. I simply am. I will always humiliate and annihilate you all." Cassandra monologued like a damn Pixar or Disney villain. Actually, just a villain in general.

" No!" I turned my head and saw the man in the metal mask return.

Yes, let's go metal man. Save the day with your amazing powers.

" You will hurt no one. You will humiliate no one. I am Xorn. I can heal you!" Xorn shouted. He jumped straight into the giant blue creature and grabbed Cassandra in a full nelson.

' Henry, now!' Xorn shouted again.

" My Pleasure!"

I watched Mr. McCoy hurl himself chest first into Cassandra's body. I don't know what he did, but there was a giant blue flashing light that filled the room. When the light cleared, Cassandra reached back and threw Xorn onto the floor hard.

Damn, well there goes the Metal man's victory.

" Huh?" I noticed that Irina had stopped thrashing around on top of me. I looked up and saw the girl staring down at me sadly.

" I'm sorry. I didn't mean to attack you, David." Irina spoke, choking on her words as she fought back the tears growing in her eyes.

" Hey, no worries. We're all good. No one got hurt. Everyone's all right. The Universe is at balance once more." I told the girl as I rubbed the top of her head.

" Jeannie!" Logan shouted as he ran down the halls.

" Oh, man what a drag. Me and my big mouth." I got to my feet and ran behind Mr. McCoy and Xorn who were following after Logan.

I arrived at the room where Cerebra was held, just behind Logan and the others in time to catch Miss Frost currently trying to bargain with Cassandra.

" If you let me and my girls live, this body is all yours." Emma told the woman as she held onto what I can only assume was Cassandra Nova's original body. And damn she looked just like the professor.

" Emma, no! If she gets back into her own skin, she's practically invincible! you can't do this!" Hank shouted at the woman.

Okay don't like that. She tore through the X-men in a substitute body, what the hell can she do with her own? I can't let that happen. Even if it kills us all, a monster like that can't get loose.

I raised my hand to fire at Emma and hopefully kill Cassandra's body, but Logan got in the way first.

" Hold it, you two. Just hold it." Logan spoke.

" What? But Logan." I spoke the brilliant light glowing on my finger slowly dying down.

" I said just hold it." Logan growled.

I didn't know what he was thinking, but maybe he had a plan. I lowered my finger but kept the beam ready in case I needed to fire anyway.

" Flesh... Snff. Snfff. True Flesh." Cassandra's disorientated flesh spoke.

" You'd better do this before i change my mind." Emma told the creature.

" You want to live... Understand need to live, Emma... Your mind all shiny reflection like Prizmmm...." The creature moaned.

It was clear that the creature was on the verge of dying, and really needed that body, so why would Emma willingly give it away. Unless.

I pray you know what you are doing Miss frost.

I sat back and waited while the two went over their transaction, the feeling of anxiety flowing all over my body.

" Scott, Emma just betrayed us to a genocidal maniac... Once a villain always a villain... Will someone please act worried." Mr. McCoy begged.

" Calm down, Hank. Think about this." Mr. Summers told the man.

Mr. McCoy settled down and we all continued watching the events before us unfold.

" Will take back my flesh armor. Divide, replikate, feed on this world, all mine now, Grow strong." Cassandra spoke. She reached down and touched her body in Emma's arms and transferred her essence into it. Or at least I think so as the body in Emma's arms now had the same corporeal glow from before.

" Yes, you do just that. Why don't you?" Emma asked

" What did you do?" Cassandra asked Emma.

" Oh, Drone, Drone, Drone. What I done?" Emma asked the woman. The smug look on her face told me everything went as she planned. " Well... Let's see... I rather think I've reduced you to the status of a pocket calculator, dear. I suggest you consider this you just desserts." Emma told the woman.

" YEAH EMMA!" I shouted.

" Thank you, darling." Emma replied.

" Not my mind... Not... Not my precious. AHHHHHHHH!" Cassandra screamed out as her body began transforming into some kind of giant mesh of flesh. Honestly i don't even know how to describe it.

" What happened to her?" I asked.

" B is for bomb." The creature that used to be Cassandra spoke.

" Huh?" I asked.

" She's trapped in a synthetic brain... Programmed to learn. All of you have my girls to thank for this eleventh-hour plot twist." Emma explained.

Yes, Stepford Sisters for the win. Thank you, girls! I chanted in my mind.

" And you, Mr. Lance, for what it's worth, have performed admirably against the likes of Gladiator." Emma even threw slight praise my way.

I rubbed the back of my head and smiled. " Thanks."

" The children were a revelation!" Emma spoke.

" Wow! I'm sorry I said all that once a villain stuff, Emma. That was quite brilliant." Mr. McCoy told the woman exasperatedly.

" My X-Men... God Bless." The real professor Xavier spoke as he sat up from inside the cerebra machine.

" Professor your, back! That is, you right?" I shouted first in excitement then warry.

" Yes, it my dear boy. God bless, you all... I feel like a very... very... Long Lie down." The professor spoke.

" Wait. Don't try to get up professor. I have your wheelchair right..." As Mr. McCoy was speaking the formerly paralyzed professor stood up shocking all of us. " Here...."

" Thank you, Henry. But it seems I won't be needing my Wheelchair anymore. Now, to me my X-men." The professor spoke.

Mr. Summers, Miss Grey, Miss Frost, Xorn, and Mr. McCoy all happily approached the professor.

I turned to walk away because I wasn't an X-man, but I ran into Logan.

" Where do you think yer going?" Logan asked.

" Well, I'm not an X-Man." I told the man.

" Yer sure the hell not. Yet." Logan spoke.

My eyes went wide as I stared at the man's smug face.

" Ha, got you quiet huh, kid. How bout it. You wanna be an X-Man?" Logan asked.

" Hell, yeah." I replied.

" Then starting tomorrow, I'm working with ya. Just know I ain't gonna be as soft as the furball over there when it comes to trainin. You seem a little hopeless and all you could really do is dodge. But I'll make an X-Man out of you yet." Logan grinned at me and walked with over to the others and we all welcomed the Professor back.

An X-Man huh? Can't say I ever envisioned that.

"